Irresponsible transfer of weapons is rife

Many countries are still involved in illegal arms transfers despite having committed themselves to an international treaty to regulate the flow of such weapons, according to the ICRC. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are being killed, injured or forcibly displaced in conflicts fuelled by such transfers. “I am concerned about the gap… between the duty to ensure respect for international humanitarian law in arms transfers and the actual transfer practices of too many states,” said ICRC President Peter Maurer in a video delivered to states party to the Arms Trade Treaty, who were meeting in Mexico in August to decide on mechanisms for implementing the agreement.